The pandemic has been an awakening
I have done tours in Australia and Asia, but this will be my first time in five years here, and I am super excited.
We are back bigger and bolder than ever and this time the show is full of stunts, tricks and experiments, to bring marine themes to life on stage.
This has been the longest period of time I have spent at home in about 40 years and the response to the show has been extraordinary. We’ve nearly sold out in lots of places – as lots of people out there are really excited to go back into the theatre again and learn about ocean life. We will be looking at the most exciting marine animals and we will have life-sized models of sharks, sperm whales and squid on stage. We will be bringing a bit of the ocean to life.
It forces you to be inventive and creative and it is very different to what I do on television. It’s a challenge, but one which I am absolutely relishing.
Will your family be joining you on tour?
The twins (Kit and Willow) are only two so they might be a bit too young for most of it, but Logan is three-and-a-half and is the most keen on wildlife, but they are all most excited when they are outdoors doing things. They are really steeped in it and long may it continue.
The family will definitely be coming along to see some of the shows and I hope extended family and friends will too. It’s a 25-date tour and I’m going to be bouncing all over the place from Edinburgh to Belfast to Cardiff and Birmingham. My birthday takes place on tour, but at my age (he will be 49) it’s not a big deal anymore.
Did you grow up surrounded by animals?
I grew up on a small holding surrounded by rescue animals – everything from an asthmatic donkey and guard dog geese, to a peacock and every animal you could possibly imagine. As I got older I became interested in exotic animals likes spiders and scorpions and that played a big part of my life.
We don’t have any pets at the moment simply because my wife and I are away so much and it would be really difficult. Even something like a lizard, which does not need a lot of care, you need to make sure the temperature is right and you need to be around those few times they need feeding, otherwise you are causing cruelty to that animal.
What was it like receiving the MBE last year?
It was wonderful. I was told about it in 2020 but because of Covid didn’t get the chance to pick it up until last year. I went to Windsor Castle and was presented with the award
With partner Ola Jordan on Strictly
by the Princess Royal and I took my mum along. It was an amazing day and my mum was just so proud. It meant a lot to her.
Young viewers love your TV shows like Deadly 60. Are they very knowledgeable about the natural world?
Young people are so aware of the natural world, more than my generation was, and kids in school learn about green issues and climate change.
I know there are so many kids for whom wildlife is a passion, almost an obsession, and I was one of those kids. There are kids five and six years old who ask questions undergraduates have no idea about, and when it comes to dinosnakes, saurs, they always say no-one knows more than palaeontologists and a five-year-olds. It’s absolutely mind blowing. I really have to do my research on tour because youngsters won’t let you get away with anything.
Do you think the pandemic has made us appreciate nature and wildlife more?
I think it has been an awakening. When we are only allowed outside an hour a day, that hour became the highlight of most people’s day. It showed us how much we need the outdoors. I was doing lectures and parents were asking me ‘what can we do outdoors with the kids?’
What else is in store for 2022?
It’s a massive year ahead. My wife Helen (Olympic rower Helen Glover) and I have written a book about how to raise a “wildling”, about parenting outside, and that will be coming out in early summer, but before that I am looking to the Ocean tour. It is going to be amazing to be out there in front of so many people.
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Ocean tours until May 8. Go to stevebackshall.com for more.